Lyse Doucet still in Kabul

[everythingthelighttouches]

I know she regularly reports from dangerous places but am I the only person to be surprised that Lyse Doucet is still in Kabul? How on Earth will she get out? She must be a target for ISIS?

I hope and pray that they all remain safe, the reporters and those helping them. . Sad and frightening times.

She's certainly brave and putting herself at risk. But they will probably have helpers and fixers who will have made an arrangement with the Taliban to allow her to operate, otherwise it would be impossible.

I cannot imagine what it must feel like to hear the last planes fly out and the airport fall silent. Extraordinary courage, both of them

They're also adrenaline junkies. And I'm not being derogatory. It's what makes them want to risk their lives in war zones whilst we scroll through Mumsnet.

@habibibibi

She's certainly brave and putting herself at risk. But they will probably have helpers and fixers who will have made an arrangement with the Taliban to allow her to operate, otherwise it would be impossible.

Well, imagine having to rely on the Taliban to ensure your safety - talk about dancing with the devil! I feel very concerned for her, I thought she'd be on the last flight out. She seems very dedicated and always comes across as truthful and well informed.

But I thought maybe the Taliban see some journalists as useful and part of their PR

@QueenPeary like this one, you mean? Terrifying

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9941179/Terrified-Afghan-TV-news-presenter-reads-headlines-surrounded-gun-toting-Taliban-thugs.html

I'm a journalist who has on the odd occasion managed staff inside hostile zones. She will have fixers inside the Taliban and those in the resistance too. Im not saying she will be fine - her work is dangerous - be she will never have relied solely on the British gov for her access. Journalists who did were just doing glorified PR work.

@UrbanRambler
I agree! It was just that she's not plopped in there by an established news agency like the BBC with no arrangements.

However, no doubt she (and her crew) are taking enormous personal risk even if they have agreements. I wouldn't want my safety dependent on the Taliban's goodwill!! She's a brave and dedicated journalist and kudos to her and the others helping her.

She’s fantastic. Both her and Orla Guerin need a huge pay rise.

@VestaTilley

She’s fantastic. Both her and Orla Guerin need a huge pay rise.

Yes, both are amazing. Modern day Kate Adies!

I’m so glad there is a thread on this. I’ve been worrying about her every night when she comes on he news. We watched her last night thinking how is she still there.

For the 10 0’clock news she’d donned a helmet and changes her red scarf for a blue one and I hope she had a bullet proof vest on. She is so brave. Love her reporting.

[quote HemanOrSheRa]She was in Kabul 1988/89 to cover the Soviet withdrawal. There's a NewStatesman article that hints at her staying in Kabul this time.

www.newstatesman.com/world/2021/08/lyse-doucet-s-kabul-notebook-dystopian-airfield-and-afghans-leaving-everything-behind[/quote]
I read this section of Lyse Doucet's piece with eyes widening:

The next day, in the summer heat, we’re taken to the civilian side of the airfield where a hoarding of President Ghani hangs in pieces. The iconic “I Love Kabul” sign with its bright red heart is decorated with razor wire, blocked by American soldiers. Our escort arrives. A bus provided by the Qatar embassy – the country that has hosted the Taliban political office for years, as well as the negotiations that led to the US-Taliban deal in 2020.

I hope more people will finally wake up to the international scandal that is the Qatar World Cup 2022. The allegations that Qatar is a base for the Taliban and terrorism might finally be properly addressed, where corruption, slavery, discrimination and other human rights abuses have not been.

so brave and yes i absolutely pay attention to her

and Secunder Kermani too

my nerves

From the news reports from journalists like Lyse Doucet, it's apparent that the Taliban are not a unified, disciplined force. There's a command, yes, that can be 'recognised' and with which the US is 'negotiating'. But there's also ... the rest of the Taliban. The largely illiterate fighters, to whom documents mean nothing. And they're impatient, so deals mean nothing; hungry, so they help themselves to what they want; and vengeful, so they butcher and rape.

It's a worry about which Taliban Lyse Doucet will run into when she makes her exit. I hope to god it's a safe passage for her, and her fixers know what they're doing, especially with ISIS-K on the loose.

OP I thought exactly the same when watching the 10 o'clock news on BBC1 last night. She, Secunder Kermani and the others still out there are so brave.

Following

They are absolutely very brave especially the women who are surely at higher risk. On your point @Godwits there definitely appears to be a certain mentality needed to do this work. There's a very good book by Anthony Lloyd (The Times) called my 'War gone by, I miss it so' which is about his early experiences as a war correspondent in Bosnia and Chechnya in the 90s - he's still working today and has produced some recent reports from Kabul. He really explores the mentality of people who do the work and how being in high risk life and death situations becomes completely consuming to point of it being addictive. It's an absolutely fascinating read because of his honesty about what draws him there and the war going on inside himself. I am not in trying to devalue what they do in any way, they need such courage needed to do this absolutely essential work of course. I certainly wouldn't want to do it.

This whole situation is Afghanistan is absolutely awful. As a Brit I feel ashamed of the way the west have handled this withdrawal. It all just feels so rushed and uncaring.

@everythingthelighttouches

Experienced foreign correspondents have lots of contacts, often they are smuggled over borders. Or as a Canadian citizen she can cross the land border into Iran for instance. It's not work for the faint hearted but most regimes to respect journalists and know that by allowing them to operate in the country they can gain advantages, the taliban want to be taken seriously and having female foreign journalists in the country they hope to capitalise in their presence. Isis however is the curveball, they may be less interested in political advantage of being nice to these foreigners!

@forteprocess

There's a school of thought that women aren't at higher risk, male journalists may be more likely to be beaten up - risks are different and in this context the taliban want to show the world they can govern and allow women to live their lives, time will tell (not holding my breath) but the female journalists are useful to them

Afghanistan won't become a completely locked door now the West has gone. Plenty of other countries (Russia, China, possibly Turkey to name a few...) haven't evacuated everyone and planes will still come and go once whoever is in charge gets things sorted again, it's just that it will probably be the Taliban who decide who can come and go. They won't be letting Afghans leave, but I very much doubt they would do anything to stop a BBC journalist leaving. I'm not downplaying her bravery, but Afghanistan isn't North Korea (yet).

I am staggered that she is still there.
As a female, surely she is in grave danger.

The nerves of war reporters have always astounded me. Kate Adie’s autobiography “The Kindness of Strangers” is a good read on this matter, and the history of some of the photojournalists. Don McCullin’s autobiography too “Unreasonable Behaviour” too, although this predates the war in Afghanistan. I am constantly amazed that the only (high profile) attack on a war correspondence is Frank Gardner.

Bless her. Courage personified

I was also wondering the same. Never heard of her before now.

@Watapalava

Hmmm not sure on this

Surely she will at some point put other lives at risk who try to get her out etc

Agreed. I think she's cool hardy rather than brave.